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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · shower · bark · spell · bore · chip · stem · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mug — a cup
  6. clip — a video
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mug — a face
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spell — magic
  12. bore — to drill
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spell — letters
  21. shower — rain
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com